Peril in Transporting the Ark

13 Then David consulted with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, with every leader. ² David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, ^[a]let us send word everywhere to our kinsmen who remain in all the land of Israel, and to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, that they meet with us; ³ and ^[b]let us bring back the ark of our God to us, ^(A)since we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” ⁴ Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for ^[c]this was right in the eyes of all the people.

^5 (B)So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath, ^(C)to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ^6 (D)David and all Israel went up to ^(E)Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, the Lord ^(F)who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called. ⁷ And they ^[d]carried the ark of God on a new cart from ^(G)the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. ⁸ David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, ^(H)with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹ When they came to ^(I)the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly overturned it. ¹⁰ But the anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, so He struck him ^(J)because he had put out his hand toward the ark; ^(K)and he died there before God. ¹¹ Then David became angry because ^[e]of the Lord’s outburst against Uzza; and he called that place ^[f]Perez-uzza as it is to this day. ¹² David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” ¹³ So David did not take the ark with him to the city of David, but took it aside ^(L)to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house for three months; and ^(M)the Lord blessed the family of Obed-edom and all that he had.

BOOK 2

Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.

For the music director. A ^[a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.

Jesus’ Teaching about Divorce

10 ^(A)Setting out from there, Jesus *went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds *gathered to Him again, and, ^(B)as He was accustomed, He once more began to teach them.

² And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began questioning Him whether it was lawful for a man to ^[a]divorce his wife. ³ And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “^(C)Moses permitted a man to write a ^[b]certificate of divorce and ^[c]send his wife away.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “^[d](D)Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But ^(E)from the beginning of creation, God ^(F)created them male and female. ^7 (G)For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother^[e], ^8 (H)and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.”

¹⁰ And in the house the disciples again began questioning Him about this. ¹¹ And He *said to them, “^(I)Whoever ^[f]divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and ^(J)if she herself ^[g]divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

^13 (K)And they were bringing children to Him so that He would touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do not ^[h]forbid them, ^(L)for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(M)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶ And He ^(N)took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler

^17 (O)As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and ^(P)knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may ^(Q)inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘^(R)Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept ^(S)all these things from my youth.” ²¹ Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^(T)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But he ^[i]was deeply dismayed by ^[j]these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “^(U)How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples ^(V)were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ^25 (W)It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “^[k]Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus *said, “^(X)With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

^28 (Y)Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and have followed You.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, ^(Z)there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, ^30 [l]but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in ^[m]the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in ^(AA)the age to come, eternal life. ³¹ But ^(AB)many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Jesus’ Sufferings Foretold

^32 (AC)Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they ^(AD)were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and ^(AE)the Son of Man will be ^[n]handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will ^[o]hand Him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will mock Him and ^(AF)spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”

^35 [p](AG)James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to ^[q]Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “^[r]Grant that we ^(AH)may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(AI)to drink the cup that I drink, or ^(AJ)to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink ^(AK)you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; ^(AL)but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

^41 (AM)Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with ^[s]James and John. ⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and their ^[t]people in high position exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it is not this way among you; ^(AN)rather, whoever wants to become ^[u]prominent among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man ^(AO)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^[v]life as a ransom for many.”

Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

^46 (AP)Then they *came to Jericho. And later, ^(AQ)as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus the ^(AR)Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, ^(AS)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “^(AT)Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they *called the man who was blind, saying to him, “^(AU)Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰ And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man who was blind said to Him, “^[w](AV)Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go; ^(AW)your faith has ^[x]made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.